NEW YORK, Dec. 1, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A special edition of Russia!, an independent glossy magazine about the country, will hit bookstores on Dec. 1. Its focus is the seizure of the Lenta retail chain by the U.S. fund TPG Capital and VTB, a major Russian bank. Having found itself in a land resembling a latter-day Wild West – where force rules, corruption is everywhere and immense riches are up for grabs - TPG quickly adopted the Russian way of doing business. Find out more about one of Russia's most shocking corporate raids, involving grenades and machine guns, in our article "Wild East."
"The rules of doing business in Russia have changed yet again," says Ilya Merenzon, the publisher of the magazine. "The new edition of Russia! is relevant as never before. Russian firms used to imitate the American way of doing things, but now Western companies are taking their lead from the Russians and have copied some of their ugliest practices. The last year has seen a number of major corruption scandals involving the Russian divisions of prominent corporations. The actions of TPG Capital, which form the theme of this issue, are unique among Western businesses. They behaved no differently to the bandits of the 1990s."
The article "Wild East," available online, tells how TPG, a minority shareholder in a major Russian retail chain named Lenta, hoped to take control of the company by seizing its office with the help of a security force. TPG scattered $100 bills around the site to distract reporters and threatened employees with grenades containing tear gas.
The special issue also includes a guide to the changing Moscow skyline (rising alongside the Kremlin and Stalinist skyscrapers is a new business district with dozens of towers); one of the most detailed chronicles of corruption at Russian companies ever compiled, by the rights activist Aleksei Navalny; and the story of an intelligence officer who builds some of world's most expensive sound systems in his basement.
About the magazine: RUSSIA!, a quarterly, independent, English-language magazine, is devoted to the most original coverage of people, trends, ideas and events taking place in or around Russia. In its first year, it was named "one of the best new magazines" by Library Journal and "a new favorite magazine" by Portfolio. The Special Business issue is on newsstands at major book retailers starting Dec. 1, 2010, as well as online at www.readrussia.com
Russia! Magazine is published by Press Release Group.